Anne Griffiths

My inspiration comes from collections, from those of museums which cross cultural, historical and natural science boundaries, to those of the individual, whether the discerning Victorian lepidopterist, the eccentric 'collectaholic' of memorabilia, or merely the accumulated bricolage of everyday life.

Historically a Cabinet of Curiosity was put together to display the power, wealth and education of the collector. It was found within the home and constantly rearranged to inspire awe and wonder. Today, with increased mobility, technology and globalisation, the world has shrunk and the power of objects to seduce and amaze is diminished. Nevertheless, we still seek the curious to show in personal vitrines, whether they are the traditional display cabinet or as virtual objects seen through the galleries of Pinterest or Instagram behind the glass screen of the computer or the mobile phone.

As the curator of my own collection, the modest, mundane, imperfect or impermanent is celebrated. The notions of value and preservation are accentuated with the use of foreign techniques such as the Japanese craft of Kintsugi, the Egyptian process of mummification or the Victorian art of taxidermy and connections between times, materials and culture are merged to provoke a sense of unexpected fascination.

Meticulous cataloguing systems, codes and phonetic symbols are utilised which position objects according to a multiplicity of characteristics, new sub-classes are created, connections overlap and curious juxtapositions occur. In essence, I seek to create something simultaneously small and intimate whilst still striking and impressive, something beautiful as well as rough, something serious yet absurd.